Monthly Archives: August 2014

Tammy, over at Daisy Yellow, always has some exciting projects going on! Last week, she kicked off her {free; I told you she is a generous soul!} Art Journal Tangents & Tactics series with a cool little tutorial on creating a Starburst journaling page.

I had a blast doing this & I can see doing many more variations in the near future. I used watercolors, gouache & my trusty black Gelly roll pen. A fun way to incorporate doodles, patterns & designs all on one page.

Hop on over here to see many more Starbursts! Try one for yourself, they are so fun & relaxing too!

I made a commitment to myself last summer to be sure to create something everyday & for the most part, I have stuck to it! Yes, I am sure I missed a day here & there, but they have been few & far between. You see, even if I have a ridiculously crazy, busy day, I will make sure I take 10 or 15 minutes to do something: a quick sketch, adding paint or designs to my planner…something! Art has become a regular habit for me now, a creative ritual, part of my lifestyle, part of who I am. It centers & grounds me.

I held myself even more accountable at the beginning of this year when I participated in Lisa Sonora Beam’s 30 day journaling project (which is on going again for the month of August). It was during the month of January, just by writing in conjunction with visually journaling my plans, thoughts & actions, I found myself setting realistic goals which helped me to stick with my creative commitment.

One of my major goals for this year has been to take my once-in-awhile attitude towards making art to making it a daily, creative habit. I took a leap of faith, as I didn’t know if I was ready for something like this, & signed up for Connnie Hozvicka’s Painting the Feminine workshop, where for the entire month of January I painted in response to a daily theme every single day. Bliss! I loved that workshop so much I took it again this past May & got even MORE out of it! Just as that ended, Tammy Garcia’s Daisy Yellow ICAD project began, for the next 61 days, which I just love! And it’s a fabulous way to add art to your daily life.

(Acrylics on a 3×5 index card, deconstructed & reconstructed)

And now, coming off of ICAD, I am in the middle of Connie Hozvicka’s Self -guided BIG workshop. Let me tell you, she doesn’t call it BIG for nothing! This class is proving to be monumental for me, personally. On top of all of that, I continue to journal/process my daily life using Teresa Robinson’s method of Right Brain Planning.

When I started this art journaling adventure a year & a half ago, my interest was in finding my own voice in my work. I spent so much time in the classroom teaching my students how to make art, that I kind of lost myself. Sure, I could copy the masters, draw from observation, but it bored me & I never felt that I was expressing myself. It felt like “copying”… Ugh. I have had years of formal training, at prestigious art schools yet no one ever explained/taught how to find one’s artistic voice. I was lost & pretty much gave up on my own work. Does that even exist? A course on finding your own voice?

(Acrylics on 18×24″ mixed media paper)

All that changed when I discovered art journaling. Little by little, brushstroke by brushstroke, I started to find my way again…ever so slowly! And I mean slowly…but that’s OK! It has been frustrating at times, feeling stuck in the same place, with no creative breakthrough, but I keep at it & commit myself to it daily, even when I don’t feel like it. Thanks to wonderful, creative, generous souls like Tammy Garcia of Daisy Yellow, Teresa Robinson, Lisa Sonora Beam & Connie Hozvicka, I jump at the chance to participate in the many creative projects they have to offer.

I show up…daily.

And lately? Oh my goodness, while immersing myself in BIG, I am starting to feel a shift in myself & in my work. It’s not a gigantic shift, it’s subtle, but definitely palpable . I have been feeling hints of it for awhile but now, I feel like “something” is just within reach, but just as I put out my hand to grab it, it flutters away. But I know, as long as I keep at it daily, I just know I will be grasping it very soon.. And let me tell you, that feels pretty darn awesome!

Here they are…all 61 of my Index Cards. Challenge completed! And, though it was my 2nd year participating, I think I have learned even more than I did last year. Part of that learning, though, has come from my commitment to creating art everyday since the last ICAD challenge. A million thanks to Tammy for creating this challenge & graciously hosting it!

This year, I took more risks, didn’t obsess over what to create, tried new things, stayed true to myself & to what I wanted to create, & definitelygrew in the process. Aside from this challenge, I have had multiple creative projects going on at the same time & I can honestly feel a shift in my work. I cannot quite articulate it just yet, but it’s a feeling that I have of (mentally) seeing & feeling something just within my grasp. At this point though, it’s a bit too early to talk about, as I just cannot quite grasp “the thing” yet. When I do, you will see it here & hear all about it, I promise!